Student Reporter News: Pig Hearts

Earlier this month, we reported on the 7th and 8th grade field trip and lesson on the heart.  To give a more in-depth review of the experience, we turn to a few of the students themselves.  Matt, a 7th grader, reports on Mrs. Sitner's lesson:

"On Tuesday of Catholic Schools Week, Mrs. Sitner came into our science class and taught the 8th grade and the 7th grade all about the human heart and how the human heart works and corresponds with all the other body parts within you.  When we got working and started learning about all the things the heart can do for you, it was a fun and great time.  The hour went by quickly, and we learned so many interesting things.  First, we learned all about the heart's specific parts, such as how many chambers the heart has and all the roles the other parts of the heart can do.  We also learned what the left and right ventricles are and the right and left atrium; those are the four chambers.  Then, we got to learn how to read and take our pulse and heartbeat.  We learned to use a stethoscope to read our heartbeat, which was really interesting.  We also learned other places to take your pulse, such as in your neck, groin, and on the left side of your wrist.  Finally, we all got to learn a song about the heart.  It taught us how the veins and heart work together to pump blood through our body.  Also at the end, we asked a bunch of questions for about 25 minutes, and all the kids had wonderful questions.  Mrs. Sitner taught us a lot in one hour!  Now that I know so much about the heart and how to keep it healthy, I will protect my heart.  I think everyone learned a lot about the heart that day and thought everything we heard and did was interesting and fun.  If I could learn more about the heart, I definitely would.  Mrs. Sitner's visit was like a mini-field trip in the classroom!"

Another 7th grader, Ben, explains more about the field trip:

"On February 4, 2015, the 7th and 8th grades went to Saint Louis University to dissect a pig's heart.  Both classes had been learning about the heart in science class, so Mrs. Garbo, the science teacher, planned a hands-on experiment so we could learn and have fun.  Each student had a partner that shared a heart, and they helped each other make cuts.  Our instructor was very nice, helpful, and knowledgeable.  Despite the fact that a lot of people were nervous, everybody liked it a lot, and best of all, no one got sick.  The heart looked a lot different than I expected, for instance it was twice the size of the human heart, and instead of it being red, it was more of an off-white color.  Overall, the field trip was very fun, and we learned a lot, too."